Candle 79

The UES has a plethora of organic/vegan restaurants. Although I am not a vegan, I love the fact that these places always tend to take dietary restrictions seriously and usually have a gluten-free menu.

Having been to Candle Cafe and having heard such great things about its more upscale sister restaurant, Candle 79, I knew it was only a matter of time that I made my way over there.

It took some convincing to get my non-vegan, non-gluten free, ”do we really have to go to a vegan restaurant” sister to go here, but with a little persuasion I got my way. We grabbed a seat at the bar and got:

Lentil Amuse-Bouche

We were given these small spoonfuls of lentil “salad” upon ordering – what I considered an amuse-bouche. And since apparently not a lot of people are familiar with the word, here’s a lesson for ya’ll:

An amuse-bouche[aˌmyzˈbuʃ] or amuse-gueule [aˌmyzˈɡœl] is a single, bite-sized hors d’œuvre.[1] Amuse-bouches are different from appetizers in that they are not ordered from a menu by patrons, but, when served, are done so for free and according to the chef’s selection alone. – wikipedia

What we actually ordered:

(GF) Live Avocado-Cucumber Tartare

This was served with ginger-jalapeno dressing & hearts of palm. I loved the play on a typical tartare and was almost convinced that the heart of palm I was eating could have been crab meat. Pretty much a perfect alternative to eating guacamole by the spoonful (yes – I do that).